Warm foam dispensing devices



Dec. 19, 1967 R V, MATHlSON 3,358,882

WARM FOAM DISPENSING DEVICES Filed May l2, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fl G. 2 57 3| covER GUARD CAP INVENTOR.'

HUBERT V MATH ISON ATTYS Dec. 19, 1967 R. v. MATHISON WARM FOAM DISPENSING DEVICES 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May l2, 1965 72 INVENTOR;

ROBERT \/.4 MATHISON ATT'YS 3,358,382 ice Patented Dec. 19, 1967 3,358,882 WARM FOAM DISPENSING DEVICES Robert V. Mathison, 5 Woodcrest Road, Asheville, N.C. 28804 Filed May 12, 1965, Ser. No. 455,070 5 Claims. (Cl. 222-80) The present invention relates generally to devices for dispensing propellant-pressurized creams or other dispersions, and more particularly relates to structures for dispensing warm shaving cream foam. The invention has particular application to the dispensing of shaving cream as a warm foam from a propellant-pressurized container or cartridge.

Foam-type shaving cream is packaged in a pressure type container in the form of an aqueous colloidal form of soap or other surface active agent in association with a volatile propellant. Foam is discharged from the pressure-type container via a valve. The propellants employed are usually gaseous at room temperatur-e and pressure, but they may be in liquid condition under the pressure conditions in the container. The colloidal dispersion emerges in the form of a ne, stable lather ready for application to the skin surfaces to be shaved. Such lather, without auxiliary heating, is cool and is usually well below body temperature.

Foam type shaving cream is more comfortably used if it is warmer than body temperature. This has been recognized by others, who have offered to the art various means for warming the foam type lather as it is dispensed. For example, the patentees of Patents Nos. 2,873,351; 3,098,295; 3,116,403; and 3,144,175 suggest the use of electrical heating elements for warming the lather as it is dispensed. Other patentees have suggested areosol dispenser structures in which the shaving cream is warmed in a heat conductive member which has been preheated by holding the member under a running, hot water tap. The latter type of structures are shown, for example, in Patent No. 3,111,967, wherein the shaving cream foam is dispensed into a heat conductive cup which, prior to the dispensing, has been heated under a hot water tap and in Patent No. 3,095,122, wherein the cream, prior to discharge as a foamed lather, passes through the heat conductive chamber which has been preheated by running hot water over the outside ofthe chamber.

This invention relates to improvements in the latter type of foam-warming devices in which hot water is used to heat a heat conductive chamber, which in turn, warms the cream prior to dispensing. Briefly, the invention relates to a combination comprising a hollow body divided by a transverse wall into a lower cavity and an upper cavity. The transverse wall has a central opening therein. The hollow body is preferably in the shape of a hollow cylinder and may have thereon a handle, the most preferred form of the invention being a hollow cylinder with a handle and simulating the shape of an old fashioned shaving mug.

A container or cartridge containing a propellant-pres surized shaving cream or other dispersion is held removably in and housed by the hollow body. The upper cavity contains a heat-conductive chamber. The cartridge is mounted in the hollow body with its propellant-pressurized cream storage portion positioned in the lower cavity of the hollow body. The upper portion of the cartridge has a neck extending into the opening in the transverse Wall. The upper cavity is adapted to hold hot water. The hot water heats the walls of the heat-conductive chamber by direct heat exchange. The lower portion of the cartridge is communicated with the heat-conductive charnber, preferably via a tube means for flow of the pressurized duid into and through the heat-conductive chamber.

A screen or equivalent foraminous member is mounted on the upper portion of the hollow body and extends over the upper side of the upper cavity above the heating chamber. This screen is provided to hold the warm shaving cream foam which flows after passage through the heat conductive chamber into a valve chamber. The latter discharges the warmed, pressurized fluid as a warm, foamed cream onto the screen. The discharge means directs the flow of the discharged warmed, foamed cream onto the upper surface of the screen, where it rests and is ready for application to the skin surface to be shaved.

The novel structures provided by the combination of this invention afford several advantages or conveniences to the shaver. The combination affords a structure which readily adapts itself to an attractive and decorative appearance, especially when manufactured in accordance with the preferred forms of the invention. Essentially all of the dispensing structure is housed within the hollow body and excluded from view, either beneath the screen or within the confines of the lower cavity. The screensupport of the foamed cream provides a readily available reservoir of foamed cream for application to the skin surface to be shaved. It is maintained in a warmed condition by the heated water beneath the screen during the entire shaving process so that the shaver, upon finding he needs to apply additional lather, merely needs to take additional cream from this reservoir. If need be, he can dispense a small amount of additional cream onto the screen for secondary application. Y

The combination of the screen positioned on the upper side of the upper, hot-water-accommodating cavity has several advantages. The dispensed foam resting on the screen is kept warm by the hot water in the upper cavity. Furthermore, after the shaving is completed, the shaving accessory is inverted to pour the hot water, in the process of which the screen is cleansed of residual shaving cream. Any residue of shaving cream which is not washed out by dumping out the hot water can be washed out by holding the unit under a water tap to complete the screen cleaning operation.

Having explained the invention in its generic concepts, and certain of the advantages thereof, the invention is more particularly described in relation to preferred embodiments thereof.

These preferred embodiments are shown in the drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a diametric cross section of a preferred embodiment of the aforedescribed invention;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary, diametric cross section of the neck portion of the aerosol-pressurized container or cartridge of FIG. 1 before mounting thereof in the dispensing device of FIG. 1;

FIGURE 3 is a diametric cross section of a further embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 4 is a top plan view of the embodiment of FIG. 3; and

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary, diametric cross section of still another embodiment of the invention.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the dispensing device comprises a metal shell simulating the shape of a shaving mug 10 and has a mug handle H. The mug 10 comprises a cylindrical, outer wall 11 having at the upper edge thereof a rounded, ring-shaped lip 12. The lip 12 is joined with cylindrical, inner Wall 13 at the upper edge of the latter, while the lower edge of inner wall 13 is connected with a disc-shaped, horizontal wall 14. Cylindrical inner wall 13 and disc-shaped, bottom wall 14 form an upper cavity open across the top thereof for purpose later described.

A narrow neck is formed at the center of bottom wall 14 by the cylindrical wall 15. A larger neck is formed immediately below neck 15 by the disc-shaped wall 16 and cylindrical wall 17. The lower edge of cylindrical wall 17 is connected with still another disc-shaped wall 18, the outer peripheral edge of which in turn is connected with an inner, cylindrical wall 19. The walls 18 and 19 form a downwardly facing, lower cavity, which in the embodiment of FIG. 1 has formed in the lower edge of cylindrical wall 19 the threads 20. The lower edge of inner wall 19 is connected with the lower edge of outer wall 11 by a seam 21.

Thus, there is provided a hollow, cylindrical body divided internally into an upper cavity 22 and a lower cavity 23, both of which cavities open in opposite directions. These cavities are separated by an air space 26 therebetween, the advantage of which will be later described.

The lower, downwardly opening cavity 23 accommodates a cartridge 24 containing an aerosol-pressurized shaving cream. The cylindrical, outer wall of cartridge 24 has formed on the lower edge threads 25 which matingly thread with threads 20. The bottom wall 27 of cartridge 24 is concave and has integrally formedfthereon a diametric rib 28. The rib 28 forms a finger-grippable member for threading cartridge 24 into and out of lower cavity 23.

The upper portion of cartridge 24 has a neck portion 29 accommodated in the neck formed by walls 16 and 17. The top wall 30 of neck 29 has a central opening on which is securely seated an elastomer seal 31 which is sufficiently uid tight to keep the aerosol-pressurized contents of container 24 from escaping until the seal is punctured.

The lower portion of seal 31 extends into an enlarged, tube portion 32 of the vertical tube 33, the lower end of which is near bottom wall 27. The tube 33 conveys the shaving cream upwardly through the center of cartridge 24 and prevents escape of the pressurizing gas.

The seal 31 may be a cured elastomer seal of the type used in inatable balls, i.e., seals having a gas tight passage which can be opened by penetration of a sharp needle-like implement. Alternatively, the seal 31 may be a fluid-like sealant of uncured elastomer which is held in the opening in top wall 30 by known techniques.

The upper cavity 22 is intended to hold hot water as a heat source for heating the dispensed shaving cream. It is best that this hot water does not substantially heat the contents of cartridge 24, and for this purpose the air space 26 is provided as a heat insulating space between upper cavity 22 and lower cavity 23. Furthermore, in order to guard against leakage of hot water from Vcavity 22 past cylindrical wall 15, and consequent running of the leaked water over the cartridge 24, the upper wall 34 of cartridge 24 abuts against an elastomer, O-ring 35 which is seated in a downwardly facing, ring groove 36 in wall 18. This prevents any leaked water from escaping past the O-ring 35. Also, if the joint between wall 15 and heating chamber tube 37 is gas tight as well as liquid tight, O-ring seal can prevent accidental escape of contents of cartridge 24 which might escape between seal 31 and tube 37. The latter penetrates the seal when cartridge 24 is mounted in the lower cavity 23, as shown.

The downwardly extending tube 37 has a pointed end 38 to aid its penetrating or penetration of seal 31 as the cartridge 24 is threaded into lower cavity 23. The lower end of tube 37 has a series of radial apertures 39 which communicate the enlarged tube portion 32 and the tube 37 to allow the pressurized shaving cream to pass into tube 37. As aforesaid tube 37 is xedly mounted in the opening defined by the cylindrical Wall 15 it constitutes a permanent part of the shaving mug 10.

The tube 37 supports a heating chamber 40 in upper cavity 22, the bottom wall 41 of which chamber is spaced above the bottom wall 14 of cavity 22. The top wall 42 of heating chamber has an opening in which is mounted by a huid-tight joint a valve chamber 43.

The valve chamber 43 is divided by a divider ring 476 into an upper portion and a lower portion. The lower portion contains a valve 47 urged by coil spring 48 into seating engagement with the lower surface of divider ring 46 about the central aperture therein. Fluid contents from cartridge 24 iow upwardly through tube 37 and thence outwardly along the lower surface of a bale disc 49 in the lower portion of heating chamber 40. The bafe disc 49 causes the pressurized shaving cream to flow along the bottom wall 41 of heating chamber 40, in which flow the pressurized shaving cream picks up heat from the bottom wall 41 by virtue of immersion of the heating chamber 40 in the upper cavity 22. If desired, the heating chamber 40 may -be stuffed with small particles or filaments of a heat conductive material such as corrosion resistant steel wool. This stuffing also picks up heat through heat conduction from the heated walls of chamber 40.

Thus, the pressurized shaving cream, in passing from tube 37 through heating chamber 40 into the lower opening 44 of chamber 43, is warmed by the heated walls of the heating chamber 40 and the heat-conductive stuing therein. When valve 47 is open, the warmed shaving cream passes upwardly through chamber 43 and out radial ports 51 onto a dish-shaped screen 56 mounted across the upper portion of upper cavity 22. The valve 47 is operated by a valve stem 52, slidably contained in a rubber seal 53, upon downward pushing of the push button 54 at the top of Valve stem 52.

The upper cavity 22 is lled with hot Water 55 to a level which essentially completely immerses the chamber 40, but wihch is essentially below the screen 56. Thus, the warm shaving cream is dispensed onto the dish-shaped screen and is immediately accessible for application to the skin surface to be shaved as a warm foam. The screen 56 preferably is made of heat resistant, corrosion resistant material such as stainless steel wires. The hot water 55 further serves as a heat reservoir for keeping the shaving cream foam on screen 56 from cooling during the shaving process.

FIG. 2 shows the neck portion of the replaceable cartridge -24 as it would appear when merchandise and/ or immediately before mounting the cartridge in the shaving mug 10. The neck 29 is covered by a cover cap S7, which cap is removed and discarded before the cartridge is inserted into the mug 10.

The embodiment of FIGS. 3 and 4 is similar in many respects to the previously described embodiment. It comprises a hollow body simulating a shaving mug 61 with mug handle H. The hollow body is defined by an outer cylindrical wall 62 having a ring lip 63 at the upper edge thereof. The ring lip connects with the upper edge of inner, cylindrical wall 64, the lower edge of which is joined with the outer edge of horizontal ring wall 65, forming the bottom of an upper cavity 22. The bottom ring wall 65 has a central opening, from which depends the threaded neck y66. A ring wall 67 joins the lower edge of threaded neck `66 and the cylindrical, outer wall 61. The ring wall 67 has a downward facing ring groove 68, in which is mounted the O-ring seal 69.

A neck 70 of cartridge 72, which contains aerosolpressurized shaving cream, has threads 71 matingly threaded with threads 66 for removably mounting the cartridge 72 in the mug 61. In this embodiment the vertical tube 73 of cartridge 72 and the heating chamber 74 constitute an integral part of the cartridge 72. The heating chamber 74 is of essentially the same construction as the heating chamber 40 previously described, the essential ditference 4being that the heating chamber in FIGS. 3 and 4 constitutes a permanent part of cartridge 72. Its diameter is of such dimension that it will pass through the threaded neck 66 for insertion of or removal of cartridge 72 from the shaving mug 61. The valve chamber 76 is of slightly different construction at the discharge end thereof. It houses the valve 77 which is urged upwardly Iby spring 78 against valve seat 80 to close olf the shaving cream discharge tube 81. Pressurized shaving cream travels upwardly through tube 73, across the under surface of baille disc 79, and into valve chamber 76, by which stage it has become warmed by the heat transferred from hot water 55 through the heat conductive walls and heat conductive stuing in heating chamber 74. When valve 77 is opened by downward pressure on disc 82 'at 'the upper end of valve stem 83, the warmed shaving cre-am dispenses as a foam through the upper end ofthe discharge tube 81.

The warmed, shaving cream foam hits the under surface of the disc 82, which is relatively large so that it causes the shaving cream foam to disperse radially outwardly onto the upper surface of the screen `84. The screen 84 provides the same support for the foam shaving cream as was provided by the screen 56 in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2.

The O-ring seal `69 is especially important in the embodiment of FIGS. 3 and 4 because it is difficult to provide a threaded connection for neck 70 which is water tight. Therefore, it is usually inevitable that water will seep between the threads of neck 66 and neck 70 and, in order to prevent substantial heating of the contents of cartridge 72 by the leaking hot Water, the O-ring seal 69 contines the leakage loss only to the neck area of cartridge 72. lf desired, however, other seals such as a seal across the top wall of neck 7 0 can be employed.

It is to be further noted that valve stern 83 is threaded in valve 77 whereby the spreader disc 82 and valve stem 83 can be removed from valve 77. This removal is necessary in order that the cartridge-heating chamber unit can be inserted or removed from the mug 61, because disc 82 will not pass through the opening in screen 84.

The structure of mug 61 in the embodiment of FIG. 5 is like the mug 61 of FIGS. 3 and 4, and like numerals designate like parts. The pressurized-shaving cream cartridge 72 is also similar, for the most part, to cartridge 72 of FIGS. 3 and 4. In FIG. 5, however, the top wall of the neck 70 has mounted over the upper end of tube 73 a cap 91. The cap holds a normally closed but puncturable or penetrable elastomer seal 92. The heating chamber in the upper cavity is a metal tube coil 93, one end of which communicates with seal-piercing `tube 94 and the other end of which communicates with valve chamber 43. Seal-piercing tube 94 has its upper end iixedly secured in a thick bottom wall 95 of chamber 43. The seal-piercing tube 94, the coil 93 and valve chamber 43 are a single unit. Screen 84 is removably mounted in upper cavity 22 by any suitable means, eg., hooked clips 96 attached to the screen and hooked over lip 63.

After cartridge 72 is threaded into neck 66 with screen 84 and the aforesaid unit removed from upper cavity 22, said unit is mounted by pressing the lower end of tube 94 through seal 31. The screen 84 is then mounted in upper cavity 22 with the central opening therein about the valve chamber 43. The 'assembly then appears as shown in FIG. and is ready for dispensing shaving cream upon pressing button 54.

vIt is though that the invention and its numerous attendant advantages will be fully understood from the foregoing description, and it is obvious that numerous changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the several parts without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention, or sacricing any of its attend-ant advantages, the forms herein disclosed being preferred embodiments for the purpose of illustrating the invention.

The invention is hereby claimed las follows:

1. A device useful in dispensing a warm, aerosol cream comprising a hollow body divided by a transverse wall into a downwardly-opening lower cavity and an upwardlyopening upper cavity, said transverse wall having a central opening therein, la cartridge containing a propellantpressurized cream, means removably mounting said cartridge in said lower cavity, a heating chamber with heatconductive walls in said upper cavity, tube means for conveying said propellant-pressurized cream from said cartridge to said heating chamber, a screen mounted across the upper portion 4of said upper cavity, means for discharging said propellant-pressurized cream onto the upper surface of said screen after it passes through said heating chamber, a valve for controlling flow of said propellaut-pressurized cream from said cartridge through said chamber and onto said screen, and means to manually operate said valve, said means including a manually movable member above said screen, whereby the cream may be warmed by placing hot water in said upper cavity and substantially immersing said heating chamber therein prior to dispensing the propellant-pressurized cream onto said screen.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said transverse wall constitutes the combination of the bottom wall of said upper cavity and the top wall of said lower cavity, which walls are separate, spaced walls defining therebetween an annular, insulating space in said transverse wall.

3. A device ras claimed in claim 1, an upwardly directed discharge passage for discharging cream foam upwardly above said screen, and said last-mentioned means includes a valve stem on said valve extending upwardly through said passage and a large push button on the upper end of said valve stem, said push button being sufficiently large to intercept the upwardly-discharged cream foam and spread it radially Ionto said screen.

4. A device as claimed in claim 1, and a chamber projecting above said screen and having radial, discharge ports positioned above said screen for discharging cream foam radially onto said screen.

5. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said cartridge has a neck projecting into said central opening, a normally pressure-tight, but penetrable, seal in the upper wall of said neck and 'a tube penetrating said seal and communicating said cartridge with said heating chamber.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,682,977 7/1954 Spiess et al. 3,258,170 6/1966 Ayres et al. 222-146 3,314,572 4/1967 PungitOre ..-222-146 ROBERT B. REEVES, Primaly Examiner. F. R, HANDREN, Assistant Examiner, 

1. A DEVICE USEFUL IN DISPENSING A WARM, AEROSOL CREAM COMPRISING A HOLLOW BODY DIVIDED BY A TRANSVERSE WALL INTO A DOWNWARDLY-OPENING LOWER CAVITY AND AN UPWARDLYOPENING UPPER CAVITY, SAID TRANSVERSE WALL HAVING A CENTRAL OPENING THEREIN, A CARTRIDGE CONTAINING A PROPELLANTPRESSURIZED CREAM, MEANS REMOVABLY MOUNTING SAID CARTRIDGE IN SAID LOWER CAVITY, A HEATING CHAMBER WITH HEATCONDUCTIVE WALLS IN SAID UPPER CAVITY, TUBE MEANS FOR CONVEYING AND PROPELLANT-PRESSURIZED CREAM FROM SAID CARTRIDGE TO SAID HEATING CHAMBER, A SCREEN MOUNTED ACROSS THE UPPER PORTION OF SAID UPPER CAVITY, MEANS FOR DISCHARGING SAID PROPELLANT-PRESSURIZED CREAM ONTO THE UPPER SURFACE OF SAID SCREEN AFTER IT PASSES THROUGH SAID HEATING CHAMBER, A VALVE FOR CONTROLLING FLOW OF SAID PROPELLANT-PRESSURIZED CREAM FROM SAID CARTRIDGE THROUGH SAID CHAMBER AND ONTO AND SCREEN, AND MEANS TO MANUALLY OPERATE SAID VALVE, SAID MEANS INCLUDING A MANUALLY MOVABLE MEMBER ABOVE SAID SCREEN, WHEREBY THE CREAM MAY BE WARMED BY PLACING HOT WATER IN SAID UPPER CAVITY AND SUBSTANTIALLY IMMERSING SAID HEATING CHAMBER THEREIN PRIOR TO DISPENSING THE PROPELLANT-PRESSURIZED CREAM ONTO SAID SCREEN. 